Case Number 04945

DRAGON DRIVE

The Charge

"Dragon Drive...D-Break!" -- Miss L.

Opening Statement

I enjoyed watching Dragon Drive, a recent entry in the "trading
card / virtual game universe" genre of anime. I expected to be bored, but
this series delivers more than light entertainment and game tips.

Facts of the Case

Dragon Drive is about a career slacker, Reiji Ozora, and his best
friend Maiko Yukino's last-ditch attempt to get him interested in
something other than being Tardy Champ at school. That something is a
virtual reality game world called D-Zone, where he can command his very own
dragon that is created based on his own personality and physical profile. In
D-Zone, he can fight other players and their dragons.

The trouble is, Rei's dragon is a pipsqueak! To the amazement of everyone
watching, the adorable but featherweight Chibi has the lowest stats on record
and a fondness for sleeping. Needless to say, Rei instantly becomes everyone's
favorite target as they predict an easy win; if his self-proclaimed rival
Daisuke Hagiwara ("Dice," who loves Maiko with a consuming passion and
who resents Rei's relationship with her) isn't running him down, it's the
ultra-cool Kyogi from his class, or one of the other game champions.

However, it isn't just the unusually low stats that attract everyone's
attention; his dragon soon starts exhibiting fantastic abilities that are far
beyond even the most advanced player. But something is going on...Rei isn't
earning any experience points, and Chibi isn't getting any stronger, stat-wise,
so how can they keep blowing everyone away?

The Evidence

Dragon Drive won't win any awards for originality, cutting-edge
animation technique, or story, but it does offer solid entertainment, which
already puts it leaps and bounds beyond similar tie-in anime such as
.hack//SIGN.

The reason? One word: humor. The classic clueless dunce Rei stumbles through
life alternately dazed and jumped up higher than a hyperactive ten-year-old who
just ate a box of pixie sticks. The fact that he has friends at all is only due
to his infrequent but stunningly noble deeds. He'd step in front of a bus for
his friends, which is why they remain loyal.

There's also mystery -- what is going on in D-zone, and how does Chibi
figure into things? The writers manage to keep the answers just out of reach but
tantalizing enough to keep the viewer interested, with plenty of eye candy
(dragon duels) and humor as filler.

Finally, romance. Daisuke's nearly obsessive devotion to Maiko is both
comically sweet and sadly pathetic. In other words, a perfect unrequited love
story.

Clearly, the show's creators are having fun with the concept and story, and
they have created a kick-ass game world to stomp around in.
Dragons...fighting...hit points...might makes right? Sign me up! Dragon
Drive is the kind of game that I would have sunk $20 worth of quarters in as
a kid. I guess now I could just buy it for GameCube.

Fans of Ranma 1/2 will recognize Brad Swaille, the voice of Mousse,
in the title role. His perpetually-on-the-edge-of-puberty voice and talent for
playing clueless sugar junkies serves him well in this role. English voice dub
is right on the money, with each lead role perfectly cast. The animation is
clear and colorful, with crisp lines -- a fairly standard Pokemon type of
style. The video transfer is fair, with a bit of scanning interference that
makes the image slightly soft, but it isn't too bad. Sound quality fares a
little better, with a fairly active 2.0 surround field and clear transfer.
There's not much in the way of extras, just an illustration gallery and some
previews.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

The fact that Dragon Drive is just the latest meat for the grinder of
video game knock-off anime is probably its most damning quality. It inherits a
certain blandness as a result, a sort of mass-produced, sanitized appeal that
is, in the end, an unfair characterization. If Pokemon is oatmeal,
Dragon Drive is Frosted Flakes with extra sugar on top.

Closing Statement

Watch Dragon Drive, have fun. Don't watch Dragon Drive, the
world continues to revolve. Still watching .hack//SIGN instead of
Dragon Drive? Time for a change. Besides, super-cute dragon beats cute
but vaguely scary cat-thing any day.